‘Great Futures’ set for Aug. 3 opening

July 1, 2026 by Ben Pounds

Renovations are complete for the new daycare at Jaycee Park’s former armory, but it won’t open until Aug. 3.

The daycare is a collaboration between the Boys and Girls Club and the city of Clinton, and will serve the children of city of Clinton employees.

Kelly Johnson, director of Clinton City Schools, announced that it will be called Great Futures Early Learning Center. The daycare had its ribbon cutting on the morning of June 29.

Johnson said at the June 22 Clinton City Council meeting that 15 Clinton City Schools staff have expressed interest in wanting to use it for their children.

“Much needed,” Johnson said of the daycare. She said she recruited a new teacher specifically due to the school system offering that daycare benefit.

The building was formerly a National Guard Armory, which the city renovated, costing $2.3 million total, City Manager Roger Houck said. However, he said two grants helped with that cost: a Tennessee Department of Human Services grant of $953,000 and a $500,000 federal Community Development Block Grant.

Houck said the Aug. 3 opening date was connected to the first day of school.

He said he was proud of re-purposing a building with a long history in Clinton into what he said was a much-needed workforce childcare facility.

“Renovation has been smooth considering it is a 75-year-old building,” he said.





City of Clinton/ Boys and Girls Club

Officials celebrated the completion of the Great Futures Early Learning Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday, June 29.